


Rivals

by Noteventhat (Facialteeth)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Gen, High Warlock of Brooklyn Ragnor, Lorenzo is not a Character, Magnus Bane and Ragnor Fell Centric, Malec from a third POV, Malec wedding, Mild Angst with a happy ending, Mostly humor, Petty Ragnor Fell, Petty Warlocks, Pretend fighting, Protective Ragnor Fell, Ragnor as Lorenzo, Real Fighting, Shadowhunter Bingo 2020, Square Filled: Rivals, petty Magnus Bane, schemes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:22:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26815054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Facialteeth/pseuds/Noteventhat
Summary: When Ragnor Fell took Magnus’ place as the High Warlock of Brooklyn, rumors started to swirl almost instantly. The rivalry between Magnus and Ragnor was the gossip of the downworld and really, who were they to deny the downworld a show?In which Ragnor didn’t die and instead took Lorenzo’s place being the antagonist. Aka- Magnus and Ragnor pretend to hate each other.
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Ragnor Fell, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 9
Kudos: 59
Collections: SHBingo 20-21





	Rivals

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fill for SH Bingo. Square filled: Rivals. 
> 
> This was inspired by [this post](https://facialteeth.tumblr.com/post/616743850081419264/i-was-thinking-about-lorenzo-and-ragnor-and-how) I made on tumblr a while ago. You can also read this on tumblr [here](https://facialteeth.tumblr.com/post/631058297711099904/rivals-ao3-this-is-a-submission-for-my).

When Ragnor Fell took Magnus’ place as High Warlock of Brooklyn, rumors started to swirl almost instantly. Most thought of the warlock community as stoic and professional. Warlocks were not seen as ones to indulge in gossip among themselves but Magnus knew his community to be different. Sure, they all pretended not to care what was going on outside their own districts but in the cover of night, hidden around corners and whispered under breath, they were just as bad as high schoolers. Rumors caught fire among the warlocks and the especially juicy rumors lit the community a flame and spread to even the most isolated among them.

The rumors about Magnus and Ragnor were one of those kinds. Anything having to do with Magnus Bane was especially appealing but the rumors of what had happened between Magnus and his oldest friend? The rivalry that had sparked between them? Well, everyone knew about it in a matter of days.

Ragnor had turned against Magnus. Ragnor had jumped to take his job the moment Magnus was demoted, after declaring Magnus incompetent to anyone who would listen. Ragnor had taken years of friendship and thrown it in Magnus’ face the moment Magnus stumbled, choosing to advance his own career instead of standing by his friend.

That’s what everyone thought at least and when Magnus showed up to Ragnor’s party, his shadowhunter boyfriend in tow, the rumors only kept swirling. _Did you see the way Ragnor refused to shake the shadowhunter’s hand? Did you see Magnus’ face? He looked like he wanted to run away. I’m surprised he showed up at all._

They were the talk of the entire downworld. Among themselves, Ragnor and Magnus each found it rather entertaining. Of course, they had to play into it. Who were they to deny everyone a show when the downworld was so clearly desperate for one? It became a game. Who could bad mouth the other more in public? Who could say the most scandalous thing? Who could cross the other the most dramatically? Who could start a fight quicker, every time they were around each other?

It was fun but looking back on it, Magnus had to admit that perhaps they had each taken it a little too far.

After everyone had seen Ragnor snub his nose at Magnus’ new boyfriend and accuse Magnus of corrupting the ley lines, it only made sense that Magnus had to break into his house. They weren’t _really_ fighting, per say and Ragnor didn’t actually think Magnus had anything to do with the disturbance at his party. Magnus could have asked, in private, to come check the ley lines himself but where was the fun in that?

No, Magnus had to break in. The only tricky part was that Ragnor knew who Alec was and he knew that Alec was unlikely to betray Magnus. Even for the entire show they were putting on, Magnus didn’t want his best friend to think his boyfriend would go behind his back to work with his publicly sworn enemy. _That_ would be taking it a bit far.

Instead, Magnus sent Alec to Ragnor’s front door, so Alec could put on a show of being concerned. _Magnus cared about Ragnor, why were they arguing? Why had Ragnor refused to shake Alec’s hand at the party? If it was anything Alec had done, he was sorry_ \- It turns out, Alec wasn’t a horrible actor because Ragnor bought it all.

Magnus knew, as much as Ragnor was willing to be rude and spiteful, that he would not slam the door in Alec’s face. After this game was over, Alec and Magnus might still be together and Ragnor wouldn’t want to completely burn that bridge if he didn’t have to. Ragnor let Alec in. Ragnor offered Alec a drink. Ragnor offered Alec a tour around, when Alec asked for one and while they did so, Magnus snuck inside.

Magnus really hadn’t anticipated that Ragnor would take credit for fixing the ley lines himself after all the work Magnus put in but even Magnus had to admit it was clever and also, fair pay back. Magnus had broken into his home to investigate a problem, planning to paint Ragnor as incompetent once he fixed it but Ragnor had beaten him to the chase and managed to take credit for the victory. Score one for Ragnor.

It was all fun and games until that point but after that, things spiraled a little bit. With Jace under the control of Lilith, the entire game had been put aside. Magnus had gone to Ragnor for help, expecting him to be more than willing to offer his assistance but he and Ragnor did not see eye to eye when it came to the shadowhunters. Ragnor thought it was dangerous to make an enemy of Lilith. He thought that Magnus needed to learn to mettle less in shadowhunter affairs. When Ragnor banned anyone from helping Magnus with Lilith, it was an honest point of tension between them, one that led to their fight in the street.

It had been a grand spectacle, when the few who’d seen it spread word of it around. They’d fallen into the fight easier than if they hadn’t been pretending to fight for weeks but when Magnus lashed out at Ragnor, it was in honest anger. Neither of them would hurt the other too badly but the fight they put on was not one that was completely fake and when they walked away from each other, Magnus had been honestly infuriated.

Now, had Magnus explained to Ragnor that his back up plan was running to his father for help, Ragnor probably would have been far more likely to assist Magnus in fixing it on their own but Magnus didn’t tell Ragnor that bit. At that point, he’d already been determined to fix it himself. He hadn’t expected his father to ask for his magic as payment. He’d gladly have swallowed his pride, gone back to Ragnor and explained a little further why he needed help if he’d known what the alternative was but standing in Edom, it had been a little late to try and come up with a back up plan. He’d gone home magicless, except the blast that had saved Jace of course and Ragnor himself felt more than a bit sorry about it.

He showed it by making sure to tell Magnus he was an idiot. Magnus knew he meant it. Ragnor had probably assumed Magnus going to his father was off the table and perhaps, Magnus should have thought about it like that as well but he hadn’t and he’d ended up magicless as a consequence. Ragnor and Magnus spoke briefly right after it happened and word of it had already gotten around. Ragnor told him to call if he needed anything. Magnus had nodded and after that, Ragnor had gone.

It was only a few days before Magnus realized he did need something, only he was unsure if Ragnor would be willing to help. Ragnor hadn’t offered Magnus his magic when he’d come to see him and there was a clear reason why. It was dangerous. He’d probably been hoping Magnus wouldn’t ask at all.

“No,” Ragnor had spit almost instantly. “I’m sorry, Magnus. I won’t.”

Ragnor had tried to talk sense into him. They both knew how unpredictable it was to share your magic with someone like that and they both knew how badly it could go, if something went wrong. Magnus left Ragnor’s house angry and he’d heard word after that Ragnor had sent a notice to every warlock in their area, explaining in detail exactly what would happen to them if they helped Magnus with what he wanted.

Everyone had been shocked. Their rivalry up until that point had been more juvenile than malicious but for Ragnor to bar practically every warlock from helping Magnus after he’d been through something so awful? That was something on a completely different level. People started to speculate about what Magnus had done to make Ragnor hate him so fiercely. There was a rumor that Magnus had stolen Ragnor’s spell books and turned them over to the spiral labyrinth. There was a rumor that Ragnor and Magnus had gotten into an argument about Alec that had sparked the end of their friendship. There was a rumor that Magnus had betrayed Ragnor in some other, darker kind of way and now, Ragnor didn’t even want to help him after he lost his magic.

There was a lot of speculation about exactly what horrible thing had happened that had made Ragnor turn against Magnus after centuries of everyone knowing not to speak a bad word about Magnus around Ragnor Fell, even if the warlock himself started the conversation by lamenting about how awful Magnus was.

The truth was that Ragnor was worried about him. Ragnor knew how rash and self-sacrificing Magnus could be. Ragnor knew what Magnus would be willing to do to get his magic back and he knew that if anyone shared their magic with Magnus like he wanted, there was a high chance Magnus’ body would reject it and Magnus would die.

Ragnor had hoped by leaving Magnus no other options, that he’d try to move on. He’d hoped that Alec would be enough to make Magnus hang on and try to find some happiness like this. That wasn’t what happened. Magnus finally went to Ragnor again, this time more desperate than he’d been before.

He’d begged for Ragnor to help him and after wearing him down so much, Ragnor had half jokingly said, “Only if you give me my loft back.” It had been a fight between them for almost a century. Few people knew that Magnus’ infamous loft had actually been Ragnor’s once upon a time. Ragnor had let Magnus move into it _temporarily_ when Magnus had been promoted to High Warlock but Magnus fell in love with the building and never gave it back.

Every time Ragnor could, he’d ask for his loft back. Magnus would spit something about squatters rights and how he’d lived there for so long it was practically his now. Magnus had made a show of repainting, redecorating and reshaping nearly everything inside the loft, _his_ loft. Eventually, Ragnor had stopped caring. He didn’t really want the loft back but he couldn’t help but bother Magnus about it every time he could.

Ragnor had expected Magnus to laugh. He’d expected him to insist the loft was no longer Ragnor’s, with whatever new excuse he had now. He hadn’t expected Magnus to just nod. He hadn’t expected Magnus to pull the key from his pocket, a key he’d probably had to get made after his magic disappeared, and hand it over.

Ragnor had been so stunned that he couldn’t even say anything. He took the key and then swallowed. “Magnus, I don’t think-” _I don’t think this is a good idea_ , was what he was about to say but Magnus cut him off before he could even finish his sentence.

“Please, Ragnor,” He begged. “I can’t live like this. Please, I need you to help me.”

All Ragnor could do was nod. Ragnor walked into Magnus’ loft that night, key heavy in his pocket and when he looked around the still, dark space, he couldn’t help but sigh. He walked over to Magnus’ bar and made himself a drink out of a bottle he knew he’d given Magnus years before. He sat and stared blankly forward, wondering if he’d done the wrong thing, wondering if his magic was going to be the thing that would finally take Magnus Bane down.

Ragnor could just imagine the rumors then. People speculating that Ragnor had done it on purpose, that he’d killed Magnus. Ragnor swallowed the rest of his glass in one sip and then he stood up and made himself another.

The game wasn’t very fun anymore but they were in too deep to ever convince everyone they weren’t _really_ fighting. At Magnus’ funeral, people would ask why he’d come and no one would ever know the fondness Ragnor still had for Magnus in his heart.

When the call came from Alec, begging Ragnor to come help Magnus, Ragnor was not surprised. He’d simply stood up, still dressed with his shoes still on despite the fact that he’d been in for hours and he’d portaled to the Institute to find Magnus, crumpled on a nephilim hospital bed.

Ragnor had wanted to pull Magnus into his arms and take him out of that building. He’d wanted to carry him home, call Catarina and stay with him like they had every other time something had happened and one of them had ended up hurt like this but things were different now.

Ragnor watched Alec sit by Magnus’ side, murmuring to him like Magnus could hear, and he’d realized just how much the shadowhunter cared for his oldest friend. It was one thing to hear it from Magnus. Magnus was a hopeless romantic. He’d thought things with Camille had been magical as well but this- Ragnor presses his lips in a line, as he watched Alec caress Magnus’ cold, still hand.

This was different. When Magnus woke up, Ragnor took the magic away that he’d given him. He’d wanted to say more. He’d wanted to tell Magnus to come home, that he’d make him a drink and they could sit and talk, that they could get through this together but Alec never stepped more than a foot away from Magnus the whole time he was there and eventually, Ragnor had turned and left Magnus with his shadowhunter.

He’d thought the shadowhunter would protect him. If Ragnor had known the stupid boy would summon Asmodeus, Ragnor would have taken Magnus’ arm and marched him out of the Institute right there but Ragnor hadn’t known, until it was too late.

Magnus showed up on his door with his father at his side, his eyes burning with anger and sadness. Even before Ragnor knew what had happened, he’d known Magnus had gotten his heart broken. He was a fool for love and that made it all the worse when he was crushed by it. Ragnor had seen the same look in Magnus’ eyes when Imasu died, when Etta left him, when Camille broke him and now.

Ragnor didn’t think Magnus had intended for his father to turn Ragnor into a lizard. He’d seen the look on Magnus’ face the moment after it happened, shocked, a touch appalled, a flash of concern and though Ragnor had wanted Magnus to insist Asmodeus turn Ragnor back instantly, he gave Magnus a little bit of leeway.

Magnus was heartbroken and Magnus was dumb when he was heartbroken. Though, when Magnus had thrown Asmodeus unconscious through a portal, he'd expected Magnus to then turn Ragnor back. Instead, Magnus had turned and said, “I’ll have someone come for you, I’m sorry-” Then, he’d been gone.

Now, Ragnor had believed him when he’d said that but the day had gone by and Ragnor had remained a lizard and Magnus still didn’t come back, only his boyfriend had which Ragnor found a bit odd. Magnus could have told someone he was an animal before he’d dove into a portal to save the world but Magnus was never one to think ahead.

Catarina finally came to turn Ragnor back and even with Magnus gone, Ragnor made sure to tell everyone what Magnus had done to him. He’d made sure to let everyone know Magnus had left Ragnor in a tank in his loft. That story caught fire in the downworld instantly and Ragnor made sure it stayed lit. He was never going to let Magnus live it down, that is, if he came home at all.

Ragnor had already been scheming about how to get Magnus back, so he could let him know exactly how furious he was with him, when Alec called him for a meeting. He’d thought Alec might be calling for a normal cabinet meeting but when he’d gotten there and realized it was about Magnus, he was a little relieved. So, the Lightwood boy had cared for Magnus after all.

Ragnor pretended to have to think about it but the moment Alec asked, he’d been ready to help. Now, he wasn’t entirely thrilled about having to bond to Magnus’ boyfriend but having to show Alec how to control himself, so he didn’t catch anything on fire… Well, it did bring them a little closer. Ragnor respected Alec a bit more after that and seeing just how determined Alec was to get Magnus back soothed some part of Ragnor that had still been worried about Magnus dating a shadowhunter.

They got Magnus home and when Magnus had told Ragnor about the wedding, Ragnor had sighed, knowing he had to go. He could be angry with Magnus after the wedding. Maybe, he’d make up some rumor about him as pay back. Maybe, he’d refuse to talk to him for a decade but Magnus had never gotten married before and Ragnor knew he had to put everything else aside and go.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t show up late, making a scene with his entrance and causing everyone there who’d been following their drama to gasp. No one had been sure if Ragnor had been about to fight Magnus or not.

Ragnor didn’t fight Magnus, though _that_ would have been a story. He wouldn’t ruin his wedding like that. Maybe after the reception, he could fight him but when he saw Magnus’ grinning face the moment he realized Ragnor came, he couldn’t ruin his day. Today, Ragnor would be Magnus’ friend. Today, he’d watch his best friend get married. Later, he’d tell him just how horrible he was and he’d make sure people were around to hear it but for now, Ragnor stood next to Catarina and he couldn’t help but smile.

There would be rumors tomorrow about Ragnor showing up to his enemies wedding, Ragnor was sure but for now, Magnus was getting married. Nothing else mattered for the moment, not even when Magnus, grinning, dumped a drink on him and declared him banished from the already ending reception, just so he could follow him outside and clutch Ragnor tight against his chest.

Ragnor had wanted to punch him in retaliation but… it was his wedding night. He’d out do him some other time. Outside, both of them alone together, Ragnor let himself hug Magnus back. It was nice to see his stupid friend so happy. Ragnor just hoped no one saw them hugging. It would ruin the bit and Ragnor didn’t want it to end before he could outdo Magnus one last time.

Sometimes, Ragnor wondered if he was just as bad as Magnus and then, he pushed that thought away. Of course, he wasn’t but he wasn't going to let Magnus _win_ either.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this off memory of what happened with Lorenzo's arch and I haven't rewatched the show in a while, so let's all pretend it was creative choice if things are wonky.


End file.
